The party chief’s statement, DMK insiders believe, is a confirmation that the high command was not keen on holding direct mayor elections. Apart from time constraints and political constraints, the disillusionment towards holding a direct mayor election might also have been encouraged by Chepauk-Triplicane MLA-cum party youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi setting his eyes on a ministerial berth, instead of Chennai Mayorship, as was speculated earlier, a DMK senior said.

The disillusionment theory was lent credence to by DMK Ministers who have been pitching for the elevation of Stalin junior as Minister one after another in the last fortnight.

Unsurprisingly, the DMK district secretaries also seem to favour indirect elections to sustain their unfettered control over the party districts.

Significantly, the deadline set by the Supreme Court to complete the urban local body elections are also in favour of indirect elections.